Join Us

What? No "Flood"?

They Might Be Giants is one of my all time favorite bands. I highly considered submitting one of theirs myself. I'm not sure that this is my favorite of their albums. It's not even my favorite of the 2010s (I think I have to go Glean or Nanobots). But it's a great album that is highly accessible. I think that if you hear this and like it then you'll have a pretty good idea of what their deal is. If you don't like this album then you're probably not going to enjoy, like, Fingertips or their Dunkin Donuts ad campaigns or any of their other ephemera that I've obsessively listened to over the years. I think Can't Keep Johnny Down, Canajoharie, and When Will You Die are some of their all time best tracks. I revisit them often.

Wow, I love They Might Be Giants but to be honest I had kind of forgotten about them. Looking back on the original list, I'm shocked that there are on TMBG albums on it. What the hell? I love TMBG so much that my wife and I had the song Birdhouse in Your Soul played as the recessional song at our wedding. Their first children's album (No!) was a fixture at our house while our kids were little. Anyway, this album is great. Hadn't heard it before so I'm glad it was on the list! 4 stars.

This started out ok but got REALLY annoying after a few songs, and by the end was just utterly punishing. Like a whole album of those Weird Al songs that aren't parodies of anything, but just ADHD-inspired ditties. ugh. 2/5.

Soft spot for classic TMBG, but this is not their best album, although it is really really good. Quirky lyrics and deliver coupled with engaging musicianship (pretty much the story of their careers). I was entertained for sure. 4.5/5 but since it's TMBG, I feel compelled to round up to 5.

Love TMBG and I love you.

Tongue-in-cheek lyrics always ride a fine line for me, but thanks to some creative and glib wordplay this one ends up in the positive camp. Doesn’t hurt that these guys have a real knack for melody – while I wished there were some longer, more-involved tracks, the selection here was a fun ride overall.

Good to hear TMBG again and find that their clever quirkiness continues. Fun listen, but not going to give many repeat listens.

They Might Be Giant fans are a very dedicated group. There's a certain cadence to their music that's very boppy, in a good way. Hard to believe they've been around for over 40 years. It's a good album, but I've not seen anything that would think this is a whole lot different than their previous work. It's a whole bunch of short, creative songs.

TMBG are great but this is like their 12th best album

Let's be honest. They were never going to be giants.

What useless album. It is so dumb. There was no need to add this.

Shoutout to my boy Matthew

Omg yayyyy!!!! I have every note, every word, every quirk of this album imprinted on my brain because it is one of my all-time favourites! TMBG are truly an underrated and under-appreciated gem. They’ve had a prolific career of zany oddball recordings that don’t fit any standard pop template. They are just so wacky and funny and bizarre. I love the stories they concoct and the imagery they create in every song. Every album is an adventure and Join Us is the craziest one! To the person who submitted this: you are cool as hell, thank you! I wanted to put this one in myself, but ultimately settled on something else. I’m so glad the universe ensured this album got into the mix too!

I'm mostly surprised at this being the submission for They Might Be Giants. Pretty Damm fun though.

Indie pop animado. Me ha hecho gracia. Un 4, venga.

Whoa, cool! I know these guys primarily for the Malcolm in the Middle theme song, and then also there was a time when Joey and I would listen to their music when we were younger. Think they had this song called "Put Your Hand on the Computer" that we were always laughing at, they're such a quirky band. Thought maybe this would be an odd pick given it's fairly recent and later in their catalog but it's strong. The quirk is definitely there, and so is the musicianship, these guys really have a lot going for them. If it's too weird for you, I get it, but it's not too weird for me, it's fun and funny. "When Will You Die" especially made me laugh, quite a few others just plain impressed me. Great album! Favorite tracks: The Lady and the Tiger, When Will You Die, Can't Keep Johnny Down, Cloissonne, Celebration, Dog Walker, You Don't Like Me. Album art: Really love this one, some Warhol-style pop art. It's a monster truck hearse, bright pink. The contrast is excellent. Great cover, no notes. 4/5

Don't really know how to describe my thoughts on this album. Sometimes it was good. But some songs were a bit dull

Never a big fan of this group, though some of my college friends were, and so I heard a whole lot of them in the early 90s. I think we also had the science-themed kids album when my child was of an appropriate age. I liked this fine, the novelty act aspect toned down a lot, clearly they've settled into a solid workable sound. Nothing here really reached out and grabbed me personally but I would listen to more without complaint.

Ha-ha-funny band proves that power-pop is sincerely packable. The quality of music never drops off as such; It's not the kind of album to maintain interest across all eighteen; Neither does the record come off as one of deep cuts.

Why are so many American bands nasally when they sing?

Good fun album, does get a little tiring by the end 3.2

It’s a decent enough album, but it really does start to blend into itself after a while. I like some of their songs, but They Might Be Giants has always felt a bit kitschy to me and that’s prevented me from getting into them.

American quirky, so comes across as a bit forced.

Rating: 6/10

18 short and quirky guitar pop songs. Individually each song is at worst amusing, but together it's a bit much (even though at 47 minutes then album is a 'good length'). Rating: 3 Playlist track: Old Pine Box Date listened: 29/08/24

Cool to see someone added They Might Be Giants to the list... i've enjoyed a bunch of their hits that i've heard but haven't delved too deep. This album is quirky and fun, with certainly some songs that make you pause (e.g. When Will You Die?), but ultimately there is not much that is really catchy that elevates it. A fine listen.

This should be Flood. I will say, I'm pleased to see that TMGB has maintained the quality of their work as long as they have. I will even go so far as to say that in some ways the Johns have improved as musicians since the days of those early, classic albums. That said, this feels like a rudderless assortment of songs, not an album. A few great songs, and a lot I probably won't remember. Fave Songs: Can't Keep Johnny Down, You Probably Get That a Lot, Old Pine Box, Canajoharie

I'm a fan of these Giants, especially growing up with Malcom in the Middle, but this listen made me realize I think the lead singer voiced some songs on Coraline too which was a staple for me. All that said, there are not a lot of singles I keep from them. This album falls into that, I enjoyed the entire thing and maybe skipped once. Still going strong on the user submissions!

This had some potential but still ended up on the 'meh'-side of things.

Meh, this really didn't do anyhthing for me I'm afraid.

Good sound, good rhythms, regular voice but not so transcendental for me.

3 This one is silly Damn and it does not sound like anything from 2011 More like something from 89 2

For some reason I always associated they might be giants with the 2000s indie crowd like car seat headrest or neutral milk hotel but after hearing this one my assumptions must be totally wrong. This was closer to like the bare naked ladies than anything else.

This is quite a quirky band. I’ve heard instanbul more times than I’ve wanted in life and this album is like a less cool, less catchy version of that song that makes me feel like this band is trying to stay relevant again. This album wasn’t really anything special and was not my style of alt rock music. Not planning on revisiting this one anytime soon. 4.7/10

Not for a list